A Hero Will Always Be a Hero
by fibermuffin
Summary: Red disbanded Team Rocket all those years ago, and when there are Team Rocket-like crimes suddenly popping up all over Kanto, Red, and Leaf and Green who tag along, feel compelled to get to the bottom of it. It will be harder this time around as Team Rocket is crueler and darker, taking advantage of science and using it as a weapon for their own gain. Will Red disband them again?
1. Suspicion

Red was a quiet hero. He always appeared to be the type that never would have much of an impact on anything or anyone, but turn your head and sure enough, he will make an impact larger than life. Red was the boy who overthrew an entire crime organization with his own abilities at the age of 12. He came and went silently and humbly but left behind a trail of legendary standards. He said little yet did so much. And he did it all for no reward or compensation. Just because he wanted to and felt compelled to.

* * *

"Another Pokemon Centre in Celadon has been a victim of burglary last night involving approximately 30 Pokemon and about 200,000 Pokedollars."

Green Oak, seated on the couch next to his grandfather, Professor Oak, listened in disgust at the news report being broadcasted across all of Kanto.

"I know this is a long shot, Gramps," Green said tentatively. "but I think I know who's been doing this," Green said, his head rested on his fist.

"And who would that be?"

"Well, maybe it's-"

* * *

"Team Rocket," Red whispered to himself. He was all alone in his cave-side home atop Mt. Silver. All of his Pokemon were asleep except Pikachu who was perched on his lap, ears twitching at the noise coming from the small radio that Red was listening to. For a few months before, there were reports of theft and assault all over Kanto, and sometimes even Johto. Red had finally begun to put the pieces together as he came to realise the crime style of that gang he had dissolved all those years ago. Team Rocket.

Red got up and turned off the radio at the end of the report and paced around the room, deep in thought and his hand stroking his chin. Without any more hesitation, he fetched a suitcase and began to pack a few of his things. He was coming down from Mt. Silver for the first time in a while. It wasn't something he always liked doing, because he always felt safer when he was alone, when he barely had to speak, when it was just him and his Pokemon and the occasional challenger daring enough to ascend the treacherous mountain, when the responsibility of being the Champion could be controlled instead of elevated to no end. But now he knew that he needed to because he felt compelled to get to the bottom of this Team Rocket speculation. Who else would? The police force was an absolute joke to Red, otherwise they would have sent Team Rocket on their merry way themselves. Whether Red's stay ended up be temporary permanent, it was a risk he was willing to take.

"Team Rocket, you say?" The Professor took a sip of tea and nodded his head. "Sounds about right to me, actually."

Green sighed just as his Pokegear began to ring. He picked it up and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Green?" the voice on the other line said quietly.

"Well I'll be damned! If it isn't , Mr. Champion, Red." Green couldn't help poking a bit of fun at his lifelong friend.

Professor Oak sat his tea down on the coffee table and smiled enthusiastically. "Red. My goodness it feels like years."

Green rolled his eyes at his Professor Oak sarcastically. To Green, it seemed as if Oak considered Red more of a grandson than Green ever was. He shook the thought and focused attention back on the telephone. "How are you doing, man?"

"N-" Red cleared his throat, trying to warm up his underused voice. Being alone on Mt. Silver, a day of no challengers meant a day of little to no talking. "Not so bad. You? Oh, and the Professor." Red inquired, having heard the Professor's various pleas to speak with the young champion that were being blatantly ignored by the younger of the Oaks.

"We're great, we're great, thanks." Green said, flashing a smile at his grandfather. "So what's the occasion?" Green asked, his words laced with friendly sass. Red never called "just to talk", much to the disdain of his friends and family back home, especially his poor worried mother. He almost always had a reason. He needed something, he was horribly ill, it was a holiday in which he could not visit, or he was planning on visiting soon.

"I'm actually coming down for a while." Red announced monotonously.

"Really?" Green smiled from ear to ear. "Your mother's gonna be elated to hear this. How long are you visiting for?"

There was a pause on the other line. Then, Red answered, "An indefinite amount of time." And there was Red ambiguity. He never seemed to have a clean cut answer to a question, and if he did, it was "yes" or "no".

Green paused, expecting an elaboration of some kind but when none was given, he spoke again. "Indefinite, like, you don't know how long? Why?"

Red was silent once again as he tried to organise the thoughts in his head, but finally responded, "I'll tell you when I get to Pallet. I'm leaving right now so hopefully I can be down by tomorrow. Let my mum know. I didn't want to call her this late at night because I knew she'd be asleep."

Green didn't ask why Red thought it any better to risk waking him and the Professor. He also did not ask about the slight seriousness in Red's voice or Red's urgency to leave so soon. Instead he responded, "Okay then, I'll let her know. Be safe and all that."

"I will. See you all soon." And with that, Red hung up.

* * *

**So, I've had this idea floating around in my head for awhile. I've got some cool ideas for this fic but I've just got to fill in a few blanks as I go. Hopefully I can keep up with this and update regularly and I hope you all enjoy it! It's my first multi-chaptered fic I've ever written, save a few mediocre ones written when I was like 11. **

**I'd love any kind of feedback you have, especially how I can improve. Please, don't hold back! XD  
**


	2. A False Homecoming

**Alrightie! Finally got around to finishing this second chapter. And I'm still not that confident in it, but I do like it, and hope you will enjoy it. Plus, I've got big plans for the chapters up ahead. Hopefully I can get those up in a timely manner. |||D Anyway, enjoy!  
**

* * *

Red hung up with Green and threw the Pokegear in his fully prepared backpack. With a deep inhale and exhale, he reached for the Pokeball on his belt containing Charizard and called it out. When the fire Pokemon emerged, Red walked over and patted its head and explained the situation briefly and in simple terms. Charizard nodded and with that, Red climbed on its back and said to head off in the direction of home - Pallet Town.

The morning after Green received the call from Red, he went over to Red's house, though now it was more ingrained in his mind as Red's mum's house because of how long Red's been gone. Green knocked on the door and stuck his hands in his pockets as he waited. Soon enough, Red's mum shuffled to the door and opened it up, a warming smile upon her face.

"Well hello, Green, nice to see you . Come in." She motioned for Green to enter the quaint, homey house that Green entered so many times, but not quite as often since Red left.

Red's mum invited Green into the kitchen and offered him some tea, which Green accepted graciously. He sat down at the table and started, "So, I've actually got some pretty good news for you." He looked up at her and grinned.

She set down two cups of tea on the table and took a seat across from Green. "Do you? What is it, Green?"

"Well, last night I got a call from Red." At the mention of Red's name, her face lit up. Green chuckled at her reaction and continued, "He told me to tell you that he's coming home for a bit."

Her hands flew to her mouth and she gasped. Green couldn't help but smile at how much she was smiling. "He said he'd probably be back by today, so, any time now."

Green stuck around for a bit longer while he finished his tea and chatted with Red's mum, though she was really the one talking. Green just nodded and commented from time to time. She talked about how long it's been since she's seen Red, how proud of him she was, how she was going to start making Red's favourite foods as soon as Green left.

When he did, with a wave and a smile to his pseudo-mother, he decided to spread the news to Leaf. He walked down the road to her house and knocked on the door. Leaf didn't scurry to the door quite as fast as Red's mum, and when Green got impatient, he knocked again. Green heard a shrill voice from inside the house, "Hold on!" and then a muted slew of curses. Finally, a less than cheerful Leaf answered the door.

Green laughed and entered the house without invitation. He plopped down on the couch and Leaf followed behind, used to the familiar behaviour of her best friend. Still, she commented, "Green, why so polite today?"

"Oh relax. Put on your big girl panties and take a seat. I've got some exciting news."

Leaf complied and crossed her arms.

"Red's coming home for a bit."

Leaf 's face turned to shock, her mouth forming an "O". "Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Called me and said he would be back today."

"Well, what's he visiting for? Like, just for fun?"

Green thought offhandedly about the urgency in his voice over the phone, but simply shrugged and said he didn't know.

Leaf jumped up from the couch and squealed with an ecstatic smile. "Hey, do you wanna go sit out by the road to Route 1 and wait for him?

Green didn't really have any other plans for the day, so he rose as well and replied, "Sure. Why the hell not?"

The pair of trainers made their way to their designated spot, and as if it were timed by the heavens, they could see a warm-coloured figure on the horizon.

"Hey, it's Red!" Leaf jumped up and down, screaming Red's name, trying to get the young champion to see her. When he finally did, he rose his hand and waved. When he got close enough, he landed, and the other two trainers ran to meet him. Leaf zealously wrapped her arms around Red, and Red slowly, but warmly hugged back. Despite being a bit out of breath from being squeezed too tight, Red also hugged Green.

"Oh, Red, we really missed you!" Leaf said, smiling from ear to ear.

"Yeah. We miss having your cocky champion ass around." Green teased affectionately, ruffling the other boy's hair.

Red called Charizard back into its Pokeball and began to walk down the road with his two best friends. "Missed you guys, too."

The reunited group of friends joked and laughed all the way back to Red's house, where Red's mum was waiting. Red went to knock, but before a second knock could even land on the door, Red's mum had opened it and had her arms around Red.

"Oh, Red, you're home! I love you and I missed you so much!" Red composed himself and wrapped his arms around his mum. The two other teens simply smiled as they looked upon the reunion.

Red's mum invited them in, and a big dinner for her "little baby" ensued. (Green had offhandedly, and jokingly, mentioned earlier that he wondered how often Red all the way up there).

Later, after each trainer had gotten their fill, Red invited them to sit in their "fort". Their fort had been a place they would meet and play as little kids, and was more akin to a thicket of trees and bushes on the edge of town. They would play in an alcove in the side of a big tree, with thick vegetation over head as a makeshift roof. The other two teens agreed to Red's offer and set off for the spot.

Green couldn't help but wonder to himself why Red wanted to sit in the fort. Maybe this was just a for-fun visit to catch up with people back home. Maybe all that aloofness and worried inflection on the phone the night before was really just all in Green's head. But he quickly shook the thought when they arrived.

"Wow, this place sure isn't what it used to be, huh?" Green murmured, eye trailing around the overgrown nook.

They settled inside, packed much more tightly together than when they were younger. The plants weren't the only things that grew.

Leaf dabbled on about old times, and Green bouncing off her remarks with his own. They would laugh occasionally, but not Red, who was a bit more sullen, but it didn't strike them as strange since he was usually quieter. But soon, the laughing and reminiscing stopped and it was silent, all but the cicadas' noise.

When Red found an opening, he began speaking: "So, I have got something I gotta tell you guys." Leaf and Green nodded, leaning in to hear. "Have you guys heard about the robberies and stuff lately?"

Leaf nodded furiously and interjected , "Yeah, I think it's-"

"Team Rocket," all three teens said together.

Red curled his lips inward and let out a low chuckle and a simple "yeah" before continuing, "Well this will save me a lot of explanation. Basically, I want to get to the bottom of it all. I'm leaving tomorrow, I just needed to come back for supplies and to let someone know where I'd be."

The other two in the fort gasped and Leaf shook her head. "No, no, you aren't doing that. That's way too dangerous. I won't let you!"

Green nodded in agreement and added, "Yeah, absolutely not. Why not just let the cops handle this, alright? No need to be a hero."

Red clawed fistfuls of grass absentmindedly. "No. That's not going to solve anything. They haven't stopped them yet, and they won't. They probably don't even have leads to Team Rocket. I did it before, I'll do it again."

Everyone was silent, waiting for someone else to say something, then Green spoke up. "Well, at least let us come with you, stupid. We don't want you getting into-"

"No," Red stated firmly. "I can do it on my own." Then he said quieter, "I don't want anything to happen to you guys."

"Green's right," Leaf said. "At least if you get in trouble we'll be there to help you out. We're friends to the end, right? We can do this together."

Red sat with his knees to his chest and his head on his knees, hands on the ground, loosening their grip on the poor vegetation below. "I guess. I guess if that's what you guys want to do. But don't tell anyone where we're going, okay? Not Professor Oak, not Daisy, not your mum or dad, Leaf, and especially do _not_ tell my mum. She would have a heart attack. She still doesn't know about half the things I've done."

Leaf joined his pinky with Red's.

"That's a promise," Green said and added his pinky to the others.

* * *

**idk how to fan fic? Hopefully it's coming along well and I'm not adding dumb shit that's really not important to the story. 8D**

**Let me know what you think so far, and if you have any criticism or suggestions please, please let me know! See you next chapter! :D  
**


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